The Road to Trantor

The label writes about the musician and the album: "While composing for his newest recording, saxophonist Carl Schultz realized he was visualizing rich cinematic landscapes as his tunes were taking form. Likely related to his rereading of Hugo Award winning science fiction books at the time, it made sense to flesh out a complete narrative for the compositions to take, thus The Road to Trantor, the soundtrack of an epic tale that exists only in the mind of Schultz. Armed with a concept, some electronics, and an ensemble well-versed in evocative, highly creative explorations, Schultz, guitarist Tim Wendel, keyboardist Adam Benjamin, bassist Zack Teran, and drummer Alwyn Robinson create an expansive album of modern jazz that unfolds in the dramatic arc of a mesmerizing saga well-told."

At first glance, it seems as if the saxophonist's voice is omnipresent. But far from it, because guitarist Tim Wendel has a very significant share in the sound nuances and colorations. If you take a look at the band's instrumentation, it is obvious to locate the music that can be heard between fusion and jazz rock.

With "Journey" the album opens. In view of what the saxophonist brings to us, this journey into infinity, into the vastness of steppe and savannah or on a plateau seems to take place with an unobstructed view. We let time pass us by with the saxophonist and his fine melody lines. Sometimes we experience the sound worlds of the first track off-screen. Sound waves gradually pile up very slowly, also characterized by the sonorous sound of the saxophone. Moving sound images are drawn, as if we were on a search for bizarre cloud formations or weather escapades, right? Soft focus and a gentle carpet of sound welcome the listener on the track "Psychohistory". In addition to the saxophonist, it is above all the guitarist who defines the song in terms of sound. Both celebrate ascending lines that merge into sonic loops. The two are joined by the Rhodes, sometimes with rather dark timbres and a little reminiscent of electronic effects, without immediately competing with the classics of electronic music of the late 1970s and 1980s. This piece still dominates the analogue world that the saxophonist represents.

Sound effects that indicate chaos make out the beginning of "Caves of Steel", before you can make out slightly modulated sound phrases. The drummer speaks sustainably in succession, whirls on his set. Then the Rhodes raises its voice, which sounds a bit like analog synth. Bass phrases or guitar lines - that's the question below. It seems to be an electric bass that pushes itself into the foreground. In his accompaniment, we experience flowing string passages, sometimes also crystalline. In the further course of the piece we occasionally have the auditory impression of a vibraphone, even if it is the Rhodes that performs a sound melange. Above the hatched sound field of the Rhodes rises the floating voice of the saxophone. Fragile sound bridges are presented to us by the pianist on the grand piano when "Gladia" is heard. What is heard certainly has an impression of classical music. The piece oscillates between ballad and lyrical narrative, in which the saxophonist now reaches for his flute. The flutist draws a sound gouache with blurring and shading. When listening, one has to think of impressionist painting and the corresponding play of light. Solemn saxophone passages that loosen up can also be experienced. And finally, the guitar solo in this piece is a real feast for the ears.

After "Crystalline Desolation" follows the finale of the album: "The Spirit of Adventure". The dynamic blower that reaches our ears is sustainable. Here and there, the pianist sets sound caesuras, when he is not a soloist. In its accompaniment, the dark-colored bass moves. The bass player seems like a rock in the sound surf in the context of the pianist's cascades. The sequences that the saxophonist brings to our ears seem almost unbridled. A very successful conclusion to the current album!

Translated from German